The best free events and festivals in NYC

Don’t bother with Orlando. Coney Island is its very own magical kingdom, setting off free, sensational fireworks every Friday night all summer long. Grab a frank and get yourself a comfortable spot on the boardwalk to celebrate the end of the work-week every week. Friday Night Fireworks run from Friday, June 20 through Labor Day. Fireworks begin at approximately 9:45pm and launch in front of Deno's Wonderwheel Park providing a breathtaking backdrop to the iconic boardwalk and amusement parks. The spectacular show is presented by the Alliance for Coney Island. 

Shop 'til you drop at FAD Market, a curated fashion, art and design pop-up marketplace, which is back for 2025. Expect to see your favorite makers plus brand new creatives to help you live smarter, gift better and support local businesses.  FAD—which stands for Fashion, Art and Design—takes over different venues with a horde of independent vendors and creators. Admission is free and dogs are welcome! Peruse handmade jewelry, apparel, skincare products, tableware, artisanal packaged food, and more. Whether you're shopping for you or a friend (or even getting an early on that holiday shopping), there are plenty of local gems to pick up.  Here's the upcoming FAD Market schedule for 2025 August 9-10: Summer Market at Empire Stores in Dumbo August 16-17: Governors Island market September 6-7: Fall pop-up at Empire Stores in Dumbo September 21: Market at Open Streets on Montague  October 4-5: Fall pop-up at Empire Stores in Dumbo October 18-19: Market at Brooklyn Brewery October 25-26: Fall pop-up at St. Paul in Cobble Hill November 8-9: Fall pop-up at Empire Stores in Dumbo December 6-7: Holiday pop-up at Empire Stores in Dumbo; holiday pop-up at St. Paul in Cobble Hill  December 13-14: Holiday pop-up at Empire Stores in Dumbo; holiday pop-up at St. Paul in Cobble Hill  December 20-21: Holiday pop-up at Empire Stores in Dumbo; holiday pop-up at St. Paul in Cobble Hill 

It’s hard to get good food on the cheap, but for ten years, Queens Night Market has prided itself on offering the city’s best eats for just $5-6. Ranked one of the best food festivals in the U.S., the foodie festival runs on Saturday nights through the summer at the New York Hall of Science in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.  There will also be other items sale besides food, including vintage apparel, handmade jewelry, ceramic products, locally produced art pieces, crochet toys, stationery, and much more. In its existence, the market has attracted over three million visitors, helped launch 450 new businesses in New York and represented more than 95 countries through its vendors and their food. In 2022, the event averaged over 15,000 attendees each Saturday night. 

The New York City Parks & Recreation and the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment present the all-summer-long film festival Movies Under the Stars. The festival spans all five boroughs, so you can definitely find a screening near you. Weeknight or weekend, enjoy the epitome of New York City in the summertime. Movie Under the Stars features dozens of film screenings, from family-friendly new additions to old-time classics. The festival reserves chairs for seniors and people with disabilities. Check out the full list here with a handy map, so you can find your neighborhood's screenings.

Harlem’s historic artistic heritage will be on full display during this live series of events celebrating the people, arts, culture and food of Harlem. This year's celebration, running from August 1-17, commemorates Harlem Week's 51st anniversary and includes a block party and virtual summit. Even though it's called Harlem "Week," the celebrations will cover more than two weeks this year. Events throughout the event include an Uptown Night Market, musical performances, virtual dance parties and livestreams. They are also back with their cornerstone events such as the Percy Sutton Harlem 5K Run & Health Walk and "A Great Day in Harlem." There are events for all ages, including a jazz performance, youth races and climate change conference. The festivities first began back in 1974 as a one-time-only event called Harlem Day. It was intended to create a "much-needed positive vibe" and pull the community out of its economic and social doldrums, event organizers say. The event grew from there into the annual festival we know and love today.

It should take you about a week to recover from your three-day party weekend, by which time you can actually honor the national holiday at this joyous parade held on Saturday, September 6, 2025, at 10am. The AFL-CIO hosts the annual event. Whether you’re marching with actors, nurses, engineers and organizers or are just there for support, you’re certain to leave feeling proud of the city. It steps off from Fifth Avenue and 44th Street and marches north toward 64th Street.

Hundreds of food and craft vendors and multiple stages close down a busy Brooklyn artery for Atlantic Antic each fall. Spanning 10 blocks and cutting through four neighborhoods, it's billed as Brooklyn's largest street fair, so there’s more to see than stands hawking pashminas and MozzArepas. The eclectic musical lineup brings together diverse local talent and you can graze on grub from a delicious variety of artisanal vendors—washed down with some fab locally brewed ale, of course. The annual affair, hosted by the Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corporation, has been happening since 1974. Activities run along Atlantic Avenue from Fourth to the Waterfront. This year, it's on Sunday, October 5 from 12-6pm, rain or shine. The 1.5-mile festival stretches through Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn Heights, and Downtown Brooklyn.  

As New York City's largest free literary festival, this annual celebration brings together hundreds of spectacular writers from across the globe for more than a week of talks and shopping to satisfy the borough's brainiacs. The festival is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Activities run September 14-22 with writers in a variety of genres: international and local, for adult and young readers, working in fiction and nonfiction, poetry, prose, and graphic storytelling. Events are free, but you’ll definitely want to bring some money to buy some new books to take home.  While activities run for the entirety of the nine-day celebration, the centerpiece festival day on Sunday, September 21, takes place in the parks and plazas surrounding Downtown Brooklyn’s Borough Hall and other venues. Multiple stages will overflow with conversation as authors come together to converse, read and sign books throughout the day. Featured authors include fan favorite Joyce Carol Oates, pioneering graphic memoirist Alison Bechdel, National Book Award winner Sigrid Nunez, NYT bestselling speculative fiction author Nnedi Okorafor, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Việt Thanh Nguyễn, Best of Brooklyn (BoBi) award honoree Marlon James, and other award-winning and emerging authors. Festival Day also stages the largest book market in the Northeast with more than 250 publishers, offering readers the possibility to discover new authors, independent publishers and literary organizations. Also don't...